PM Nečas: Support to Pussy Riot, Dalai Lama harms Czech export

Prague, Sept 10 (CTK) - Fashionable political signs such as support to the Russian group Pussy Riot and Tibetan Dalai Lama harm Czech exports, but support to human rights must remain crucial in the Czech foreign policy, Prime Minister Petr Necas (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) said Monday.

"We must prevent some fashionable political signs that objectively have an impact on our export," Necas said at the international engineering trade in Brno.

"There is artificial and false adoration of such an affair as the Russian group Pussy, which is something absolutely tasteless, and certainly not anything symbolising freedom and democracy," Necas said.

"Despite this, some politicians ride on this fashionable wave, while this affects this export territory," he added.

The adoration of Dalai Lama is another example, Necas said.

"The adoration of this current is not any support to freedom and democracy," he added.

This means adoring a regime that probably would not have a democracter character and would have a "semi-feudal, theocratic character with strong authoritarian elements," Necas said.

He said the Czech Republic supports the policy of one China.

"I am convinced that with these artificial problems we should not spoil our chances," he added.

The Czech Republic's new export strategy has set the task of lowering the dependence of Czech export on EU markets.

The strategy has defined 12 priority countries for Czech exports such as Brazil, China, India, Iraq, Ukraine and the USA.

The document also speaks about 28 interest countries that deserve an increased attention.

EU members are dealt with separately.

The 54th International Engineering Fair in Brno that started Monday will see almost 1900 companies from over 30 countries.

Former Czech president Vaclav Havel, who died last year, was a friend of the Dalai Lama and supported his cause.

In mid-Agust, the Czech Foreign Ministry said it was deeply embarrassed about the two-year prison sentence a Moscow court gave to the members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot for staging a protest against President Vladimir Putin in an Orthodox church in Moscow in February.

Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) said the verdict was very sad.

"To tell te truth, I cannot imagine any other European country where such a deed - that I can maximally qualify as a riot - would be punished as if a crime were committed," he told CTK.